Question: Solve for $j$. $\dfrac{j}{-2}+ 7= -12$ $j =$
Explanation: Let's subtract and then multiply to get $j$ by itself. $\begin{aligned} \dfrac{j}{-2}+ 7&= -12\\ \\ \dfrac{j}{-2}+7 {-7}&= -12{-7}~~~~{\text{subtract }7} \text{ from each side}\\ \\ \dfrac j{-2}+\cancel{ 7} {{-}\cancel{{7}}}&= -12{-7}\\ \\ \dfrac j{-2} &=-12{-7}\end{aligned}$ $\begin{aligned}\dfrac j{-2} &= -19 \\ \\ \dfrac{j}{-2}\cdot{{-2}} &= {-19}\cdot{{-2}} ~~~~~~~\text{multiply each side by } {-2} \text{ to get } j \text{ by itself }\\ \\ \dfrac j{\cancel{-2}}\cdot{\cancel{{-2}}} &= -19\cdot{{-2}} \\ \\ j &=-19\cdot{{-2}} \end{aligned}$ The answer: $j={38}~~~~~~~~$ [Let's check our work!]